Roots Television | Og Blog

On January 1, 1892, Annie Moore became the first immigrant to arrive at Ellis Island. Her arrival was greeted with great fanfare and she was an instant celebrity, splashed across all the newspapers of the day. But soon after, this poster child of both the Irish emigrant and American immigrant experience disappeared.

About a century later, when Ellis Island was renovated and re-opened, Annie again took her rightful place in history. We learned of her amazing go-West-young-woman tale – how she had moved to Indiana and later Texas and New Mexico, married a descendant of an Irish patriot, and died in a streetcar accident. It was an inspiring tale of pioneer spirit tinged with tragedy.

Just one problem. It was the wrong Annie.

While working on a documentary, genealogist Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak tripped across evidence that the Annie Moore whose story had been recounted so many times was actually born in Illinois, not Ireland. Determined to learn what became of the real Ellis Island Annie, she launched an online contest offering a $1,000 prize for solving the mystery. The result? In just six weeks, the truth was uncovered.

Annie, it turns out, was a New Yorker. Her life, while less glamorous than the other Annie’s, was more representative of the immigrant experience. A press conference was held in New York City to share her true story and introduce her descendants – many meeting each other for the first time -- to the world.

Annie’s story made the front page of the New York Times and was featured in countless print, television and radio outlets. But the hunger to know more persists. Curious genealogists, Irish-Americans, mystery-lovers, historians and others continue to ask for additional details.

For that reason, Roots Television is pleased to announce that the September 15, 2006 press conference held at the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society is now available for viewing at www.rootstelevision.com. If you’d like to know more – how the wrong Annie’s story slipped into the pages of history, the detective work behind the discovery of the true Annie’s story, what became of Annie, and how her descendants reacted – we invite you watch In Search of Annie Moore.